The present invention generally relates to the filed of part sorting and selection and more particularly to a method and apparatus for sorting and selecting component parts during a manufacturing process to improve efficiency and productivity.
Sorting and selection devices can be integrated with many types of machines. One type of sorting device is coupled to the output of a tooling machine for separately guiding finished parts to different discharge areas adjacent to the tooling machine. Here, the sorting device is a post-processing tool that is utilized to sort finished pieces. However, this type of sorting device does not perform pre-sorting of the material to process, and therefore does not insure that associated parts arrive at the tooling machine together thereby improving efficiency of the manufacturing process.
Another type of sorting and selection device operates on the parts or material arriving at a processing station. Here parts can be identified on the basis of the quality of the material or the type of material. For example, only parts processing a similar quality of material would be selected and processed together. The processing station typically performs similar operations on similar types of parts. There is little flexibility in the processing station. Different sizes, shapes, and types of parts are not readily accommodated. A considerable level of control is required to sort the parts with associated costs and complexity.
Accordingly, there is a need to provide a simple and efficient sorting and selecting system that brings a variety of associated parts and pieces together during a production process with resulting improvements in efficiency and productivity.
The present invention teaches a system for sorting and selecting parts. The disclosed invention provides a computer for designing a first type of component part and a second type of component part. Each job, which consists of a set of the first component parts and a set of the second component parts, is assigned a unique identification by the computer. In addition, the computer also assigns part identifications for the each of the component parts. A first tooling machine computer-controller, coupled to the computer, receives the first component part designs, creates tooling instructions for the first component parts, and creates labels for each of the first component parts. The labels include the unique job identification and the associated part identification. A first tooling machine, coupled to the first tooling machine computer-controller, receives the tooling instructions, receives material for the first component parts, and creates the first component parts. A second tooling machine computer-controller, also coupled to the computer, receives the second component part designs and creates tooling instructions for the second component parts. The user loads into the second tooling machine computer-controller the unique job identification and inputs the part identification for at least one of the newly created first component parts. This arrangement insures that the first component part and its associated second component part are in physical proximity. The second tooling machine, coupled to the second tooling machine computer-controller, receives the tooling instructions and second component part material and then creates the second component parts. Because second component parts are only created for each of the inputted first component part identifications, only those parts that are associated with a specific job are grouped together during the manufacturing process.
In an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the first tooling machine computer-controller is configured to replace the computer, thereby enabling a reduction in cost while maintaining the same functionality.
In another exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the part sorter and selector includes a bar code representation of the unique job identification and part identification. This arrangement enables the user to scan the label and thereby input the identifications of component parts into the respective tooling machines quickly and efficiently. By also including the corresponding bar code numbers on the labels, the identifications can be entered alternatively into the tooling machines manually, thereby allowing continued operation despite defective bar codes scanners or illegible bar codes.
In another exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the part sorter and selector employ a first tooling machine computer-controller and a second tooling machine computer-controller that can nest or optimize the placement of the component part designs on the material. This arrangement insures that material is processed efficiently with minimal amounts of material waste.
In another exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the part sorter and selector can be used in an iterative manner. Here, a first job with the present invention produces first component parts and second component parts as previously described. The first component parts and second component parts are then combined to form a fitting. A second job is processed by inputting the fitting along with any required first component parts and second component parts. Because the second job is different from the first, it is assigned its own unique job identification. The fitting, which previously was labeled with the identification of the first job, now is labeled with the identification of the second job, losing all associations with the first job. The fitting can be combined with the newly created first and second component parts to form a new fitting that can be processed subsequently in additional jobs, with new unique job identifications.
Advantageously, the present invention improves productivity of tooling machines. By designing a flexible part sorting and selecting system, the present invention is employed on any machine where a user is required to identify parts and group them together at different stages of the manufacturing process. The present invention is a powerful solution to improving efficiency of part sorting, selecting, and grouping.